Years after most school districts in the United Stated have initiated some type of “strategy” for educating America’s, increasing ELL population,; questions about how well teachers of English Language Learners (ELL) are being trained and the effectiveness of ELL programs have arisen . For many, such topic may not be as important to some as it is to others. In retrospect, the number of ELL students grows every school year as schools districts absorb the increased enrollment. Based on state-reported data, it is estimated that 4,999,481 ELL students were enrolled in public school (pre-K through grade 12) during the 2003-2004 school year (Mckeon, 1). With this in mind, school districts are still witnessing a tremendous growth of their ELL population as educators prepare for the tidal wave of non-English speakers. Unfortunately, in lieu of the data, school districts are still not ready for the influx of students who are arriving every day, and teachers are not fully prepared. Additionally, many school districts are failing to support their teachers and to evaluate their ELL programs effectiveness. In fact, the lack of success in many ELL programs is due to the insight that many states are implementing programs with no proof that such programs are effective or working. Simply put, many school districts are not evaluating the efficacy of their program, providing support to teachers, and initiating diversity training and skill buildings.
Everywhere in the U.S., ELL students keep coming in as states try to figure out what to do with them. With this in mind, Arizona seems to have provided an example of such problems. In September 2007, the Arizona State Board of Education adopted the Structured English Immersion (SEI) model. The SEI progra...
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...to do so. Many want to know why many states ELL programs are not successful. The answer to most of such questions seems to be that no one is keeping up with the needs of an ELL population that is the fastest growing trend. Schools need to monitor their teachers and mentor them until teachers have developed enough expertise to teach a multicultural community. Also, school districts need to improve their educational approaches; using a single strategy will not help everybody. Many believe that using different tools and techniques will impact the states ELL programs tremendously. Moreover, there is enough blame to go around when it comes to the ELL programs but many believe when states evaluate their school districts and school districts train their teachers with the appropriate materials and resources, most surmise that the benefits will be realized in the classroom.
Much research was completed for the making of this article. It was found that ELL’s need time to develop oral English proficiency, teachers need to use ongoing authentic formative assessments throughout the year due to
...ell can work together to solidify the learning environment for the student in need and create a better learner as a result.
The purpose of this study is to figure out which ways experienced teachers work best with culturally and linguistically diverse students. This study illustrates which strategies experienced teachers have found to work best. The diversity in school in the United States has increased each year. This means that there are an increasing amount of students who are learning English, English language learners (ELLs). This article comes from the perspective that each child should be taught to their specific needs. All students deserve a fair chance to learn. Fair means that every student is treated differently, not equally. Every student learns differently. In order to give every student a fair chance at learning, you must teach them according to their needs. An experienced teacher, Tiffany, describes her experiences working with culturally and linguistically diverse students. This study watches her methods and discusses what works based on data analysis of the success of her students.
Due to the rise in immigration and the demographics of classrooms in America are changing. As a result, English Language Learners are becoming more common in schools. English Language Learners make up one of the largest demographics in the American Classroom (Flynn & Hill, 2005). These students have been observed to have a major achievement gap because many of these students are placed in mainstream classrooms with basic literacy skills. Many English Language Learners are born in the United States (Goldenberg, 2008). These students have only attended the school system in America. However, the achievement levels are nowhere near the level of their peers. According to Calderon, Slavin, and Sanchez (2011) “these students, who have been in U.S. schools since kindergarten, are still classified as limited English proficient when they reach middle or high school— suggesting strongly that preschool and elementary programs are not adequately addressing the needs of English learners.” The achievement gap between English Language Learners and native English speaking students is extremely high. English Language Learners tests scores are low. According to the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress, “fourth grade ELLs scored 36 points lower than their peers on the reading section of the test and 25 points below their peers in math. The results in eighth grade were worse with a difference of 42 points in reading and 37 points in math” (Goldenberg, 2008). The gap between ELLs and non-ELLs are three to eighteen points larger then students from low-income households.
Every year, the number of immigrants in the U.S. has grown “significantly.” Chen predicts that by the year of 2020, public schools will have at least 50 percent of students that are non-English speakers (¶5). This shows that it is important that public schools have a successful ESL program. The purpose of ESL programs is “to enhance” ESL students learning, to help students’ “emotional well-being”, and to accelerate students’ ability to learn the new language. According to Chen, some district schools have failed to support ESL students’ learning. For example, Chen stated that “...[some] school districts [have been] accused of not meeting t...
The number of ELLs being educated in the United States has increased dramatically. Although total enrollment between the 1993-1994 school year and the 2003-2004 school year rose by only 10%, the number of school-age ELLs increased by 100% (Short & Echevarria, 2004), and researchers predict that by the year 2030, 40% of the school-age population will be ELLs (DelliCarpini, 2008). This rise in school-age ELLs can be attributed to the increasing immigrant population in the U.S. (Echevarria et al., 2006). Although 75% of all immigrant children reside ...
...odel minority stereotype contributed to Keltner and Lily struggle with schooling by heightening parental “education fever” and increase academic as well as emotional burdens on Keltner and Lily who were already struggling with learning. Lily and Keltner stories suggest that each family or child should be understood in their specific learning contexts. Educators need to understand an individual child’s lived experiences and addresshis/her psychological and educational needs so that they can achieve his/her own success. Schools and policy maker can help educator to do so by developing appropriate curriculum that is oriented to ESL students, rather than using mainstream curriculum that does not fit the needs of ESL learners. Training teachers to implement classroom strategies that aim to understand students’ individual needs and foster students’ school home connection.
No other language group makes up more than 4% of limited English proficient students. What complicates the issue of education for language minority students is their low socioeconomic status. 80% of ELL students are poor, and most attend schools where the majority of students also live in poverty and are English language learners. There is some difference in the level of poverty among language groups. Here, again, Latinos are disproportionately represented: 57% of Spanish-speaking families earn less than $20,000 compared to, for example, only 35% of families where Asian/Pacific Island languages are spoken (McArthur, 1993).
In the United States, there has been an increase in in the number of children from Spanish speaking backgrounds. The English Language Learners, commonly known as ELL’s, are being placed in Special Education without being properly tested for a learning disability. However there are a large number of ELL’s with learning disabilities in elementary grades that truly have a learning disability and are over looked. Many school districts have problems placing ELL’s. As a result these students end up in special education whether they have a learning disability or language impairment. Teachers are also indecisive when dealing with ELL’s. Most teachers recommend that ELL’s be placed in special education from day one. It is not because the child has a learning disability, it’s because most teachers are not properly trained to interact with ELL’s. Teachers also find it difficult, due to lack of training, having ELL’s with learning disabilities in their classrooms. More teachers would find their selves comfortable if they had training in dealing with ELL’s and ELL’s with learning disabilities. This paper discusses the issues and the concerns teachers have in dealing with ELLs and ELLs with disabilities, the challenges of identifying individuals with learning disabilities, and what type of assessments classify English Language Learners as having a learning disability.
Echevarria, J. Teaching language minority students in elementary schools (Research Brief No. 1). Santa Cruz, CA, and Washington, DC: Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence. (2003)
Education is an integral part of society, school helps children learn social norms as well as teach them how to be successful adults. The school systems in United States, however are failing their students. In the world as a whole, the United States is quickly falling behind other countries in important math and reading scores. The United States ranked thirtieth in math on a global scale and twentieth in literacy. This is even more true in more urban, lower socio-economic areas in the United States. These schools have lower test scores and high dropout rates. In Trenton Central High School West, there was an 83% proficiency in literacy and only 49% of the students were proficient in math. Many of these students come from minority backgrounds and are often from low income families. There are many issues surrounding these urban schools. There is a severe lack of proper funding in these districts, and much of the money they do receive is sanctioned for non-crucial things. Schools also need a certain level of individualization with their students, and in many urban classes, this simply does not happen. While there are many factors affecting the low performance of urban schools, the lack of proper funding and distribution of funds, the cultural divide between teachers and students in urban districts, along with the lack of individualization in urban classrooms are crucial reasons to explain the poor performance in these districts. Through a process of teacher lead budget committees and further teacher education, urban schools can be transformed and be better equipped to prepare their students for the global stage.
...l survival in our society. I work as a counselor each summer at a sports camp in Philadelphia, and each summer I encounter very intelligent students who are placed in lower tracks or labeled as ìlearning deficientî because of their language. This disturbs me because as a speaker of both Black Vernacular speech and Standard English, I know that students can learn to use Standard English just as I have. Unfortunately, many students are not privileged enough to have the same educational opportunities that I was given by my parents, therefore, it is my responsibility to teach these students Standard English the way that I have been taught. But I must learn more about teaching students and dealing with the issues that plague the educational system, and I am looking forward to receiving more of this knowledge during my pre-student teaching and student teaching experiences.
The answer to these questions is summed up with one answer. That answer is preparedness and effective planning. Teacher should follow the five p’s of the Gangster Disciples. The five p’s are as follows: “proper preparation prevents poor performance” (BlackGanGsta, 2014). Therefore to prevent poor performance among ESL students schools need to evaluate their neighborhood, interact with parents and community members, and change the delivery of instruction to ensure every student is learning.
The concepts that are focused on for this research include, teachers perception, ESL students, and efficacy, which is based on how a teacher views bilingual education, organizes their instruction for these students, and the effectiveness used to bring out a desired outcome. English language learners require specific assistance and guidance through their transition so that they are able to improve and excel in their academic journey. It is important to note that teachers who are bilingually certified must always implement the particular methods that they have been trained for in order to be successful in their instruction to their ESL students. This research is aimed specifically towards elementary school students because this is the time that their language development begins to grow. A previous study from Gandara, Maxwell-Jolly and Driscoll (2005) found that there has been a continuous increase in the number of English language learners in particular regions of the United States. This 2005 research study also states that ESL students in the state of California have an extremely low passing rate of just 10% for the English Language Arts course (Gandara et.al, 2005). Problems such as these arise from an inadequate amount of ESL teachers, ineffective teaching strategies as well as teachers perceptions and involvement with these students. Therefore presented is our research question, does the implementation of specific ESL teaching strategies positively impact ESL student success in the area of language
Many schools are now faced with a language challenge, because many students do not speak any English at all. The number of students who speak little or no English has more then tripled in the past ten years to about 27,000 roughly the size of the one of the states largest school districts(Smith,1). This is the reason why schools are now hiring more ESL teachers then before. There is a great demand for them. The students in the ESL classes are as different as the languages they speak(Smith,2). Although many of the students might be well educated they still face the challenge of learning English. While of the schools by law are required to teach English to students who are foreign how schools do it will vary widely.